World: Armed forces personnel, total

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2020, World's armed forces personnel, total fell 1% on 2019 (from 27.67 million to 27.41 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.6% and a typical year strayed about 6.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 30.1% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 5.3% in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2011 to 2020 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 15% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

What this measures

Armed forces personnel are active duty military personnel, including paramilitary forces if the training, organization, equipment, and control suggest they may be used to support or replace regular military forces.

Limitations: Data excludes personnel not on active duty, therefore it underestimates the share of the labor force working for the defense establishment. The cooperation of governments of all countries listed in “The Military Balance” has been sought by IISS and, in many cases, received. However, some data in “The Military Balance” is estimated.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 33 values

Armed forces personnel, total in nearby economies

• Afghanistan — 165,000 (2020)
• Algeria — 326,000 (2020)
• Bahrain — 19,000 (2020)
• Djibouti — 13,000 (2020)
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 836,000 (2020)
• Iran, Islamic Rep. — 650,000 (2020)
• Iraq — 459,000 (2020)
• Israel — 178,000 (2020)
• Jordan — 116,000 (2020)
• Kuwait — 25,000 (2020)
• Lebanon — 80,000 (2020)

More public sector data for World

• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 33.33 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 2.48% (2025)
• Arms exports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 33.54 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (current USD) — 2.86 trillion (2025)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 2.1 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 8.3 (2023)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.79% (2020)
• Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) — 24% (2024)
• Expense (% of GDP) — 28.49% (2022)
• Tax revenue (% of GDP) — 13.86% (2024)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is World's armed forces personnel, total?

27.41 million in 2020, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1985?

It is up 23.4% from 22.21 million in 1985 (0.6% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 30.2 million in 1996 and the lowest 22.21 million in 1985.

Is the latest change in armed forces personnel, total unusual for World?

In 2020, World's armed forces personnel, total fell 1% on 2019 (from 27.67 million to 27.41 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1990 to 2019), the average change was +0.6% and a typical year strayed about 6.2% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator MS.MIL.TOTL.P1, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: The Military Balance, International Institute for Strategic Studies Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.